Court Sentences Bereaved Father to Community Service for Assaulting Police Sergeant
At a hearing on 9 July 2002, the Jerusalem Magistrate Court sentenced Mr. Abdel-Menem Abu Saleh to two months of community service for assaulting Police Sergeant Guy Raif at a March 2001 session of the Official Commission of Inquiry (hereafter "the Commission").
Mr. Abu Saleh, whose son Walid Abdel-Menem Abu Saleh was killed during the October 2000 protest demonstrations, previously admitted attacking witness Guy Raif following a Commission hearing, after learning that Sgt. Raif shot at Mr. Abu Saleh's son with live ammunition.
At the hearing, the Attorney General's representative argued that Mr. Abu Saleh should be sentenced to six months in prison, as the assault on Sgt. Raif was an extremely serious offense. There has been no court decision stating that Sgt. Raif was involved in the killing of Mr. Abu Saleh's son, the Attorney General's representative contended; further, Mr. Abu Saleh's actions seriously disrupted the Commission's work.
Adalah General Director Hassan Jabareen argued that there was evidence that Sgt. Raif had been involved in the killing of Mr. Abu Saleh's son, and that when Mr. Abu Saleh was made aware of this evidence, he assaulted Sgt. Raif on impulse, without premeditation. Adalah argued that there was no need to further punish Mr. Abu Saleh. He has already suffered the loss of his son, and being continually reminded of this tragedy over the course of his lengthy assault trial has been punishment enough. Based on the circumstances of the case, and the serious distress that that the Abu Saleh family has endured, Adalah requested that the Court not punish Mr. Abu Saleh.
In his decision, Judge Amnon Cohen characterized Mr. Abu Saleh's actions as dangerous and unforgivable, but agreed that they were not premeditated. Judge Cohen recalled that there had been no court decision on the involvement of Sgt. Raif in the death of Mr. Abu Saleh's son, and refused to deal with the matter in his ruling. In addition to requiring Mr. Abu Saleh to perform two months of community service in the Sakhnin area, beginning in August 2002, Judge Cohen ordered that, should Mr. Abu Saleh be convicted of assault within the next two years, he will be sentenced to six months in prison.
